


Listen to The Irish Rain

by LifeoftheUnwashedandUnderpaid



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: M/M, Post Reichenbach, Reichenbach Angst, Reichenbach Falls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-12
Updated: 2013-07-09
Packaged: 2017-12-14 18:00:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/839749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LifeoftheUnwashedandUnderpaid/pseuds/LifeoftheUnwashedandUnderpaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim and Sebastian must handle the changes to their lives and their relationship as Jim heals after the fall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Holding Hands

**Author's Note:**

> A fic based off of the prompts from ericandy’s 30 Day OTP Challenge

The florescent bulb hummed irritatingly in the small white hospital room, the temporary home of London's one and only consulting criminal. Sebastian had been very seriously considering shooting those damn lights just to get that constant buzz to cease but really that would cause far more fuss than it was really worth. So he remained with its constant company. In reality, that nagging sound was probably the only thing that had kept him sane for this long. Without that subtle distraction from his thoughts, there is no telling what Sebastian would have done. If he had been truly alone in that room, with nothing but the silent form of his boss in front of him, he wouldn't be able to escape his mind. He knew that he should be grateful that he found him in time to save him, that, by some stroke of luck or maybe the force of some greater being, the bullet had missed any place of true importance, that after four surgeries Jim was still alive, bullet removed, and on the mend. He really should have been thrilled. But had he been all alone in that horribly still room, bleached of all color, and all distraction, he wouldn't have been able to keep at bay those thoughts that kept creeping back: what if he hadn't gotten there in time, what if he had lost Jim, the only person he trusted in the whole of this world, what would he have done then. It's so difficult to keep the worst scenarios out of your head. Even if they are long past possible, the fear never fully goes away. 

Sebastian hadn't left Jim's side since the accident happened, stationing himself in a metal hospital chair a foot away from Jim's bed. He made sure to be right by his boss' side on those few occasions when he stirred from his sleep. Each time Jim awoke, his eyes searched the room, frightened, and his whole body trembled from the pain. Each time, when his eyes fell on the reassuring face of his sniper he would breathe again and fell back into sleep. This had been the pattern for the last three weeks and the doctors and nurses could only tell Sebastian to have patience that he would heal in his own time. And so he waited for when Jim was ready join their world again.

The nurses in the hospital took pity on Sebastian, providing him with food and coffee whenever they could spare a moment. He knew the rumor amongst them was that he was Jim's lover and it only intensified their motherly care. Even though Sebastian knew that what they said was true, something about their sad little stares when they thought he wouldn't notice bothered him. Their relationship had always seemed taboo. The sniper and his psychopath it was almost too bizarre to be true. And so it was kept a secret. From everyone. It felt strange to be just two more people at the hospital. Just Richard Brook and his kind "friend" who had brought him to the hospital. 

***

Sebastian startled awake as his head fell forward against his chest. He hadn't noticed that he had dozed off, apparently longer than a few moments as the lights in Jim's room had been turned off and the door shut until just a crack of light from the hall was left visible. Sebastian stretched his arms above his head and yawned. The need for sleep was creeping through his body and with his humming companion dimmed for the night, he knew that his thoughts would begin to plague his mind. There would be no point in trying to fight it off any longer. Sebastian leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest and closing his eyes, his weak attempt at finding a good sleeping position. He positioned and repositioned himself but he couldn't find a single way that metal chair that was conducive to sleep. He halted his squirming and let out a sigh. His eyes wandered towards Jim, as they often did, and he noticed the space in Jim's bed between the edge and where his body lay. Sebastian leaned forward in his chair and rested his head on that small stretch of mattress. The inherent scent of Jim, though masked slightly by weeks in a hospital bed, filled Sebastian's nose, amazingly calming, almost like a drug. It didn't take long for the smell to cloud his mind, pushing away those terrible thoughts, or any thought for that matter, and lull him into a deep dreamless sleep. 

Around two in the morning, when the night nurse came in to check on her patient, she found the sweet man, his "friend" sleeping by his side, nose pressed against his shoulder, fingers intertwined.


	2. Cuddeling Somewhere

It was three in the morning, or at least something close to that when Sebastian heard Jim creep into his room. They had been home for a little over a month now and Jim's wounds were practically healed. However since their return Jim rarely slept and Sebastian slept all too much, both making up for whatever sleep they had lost or however too much they gained. Jim tried to slip into the room as quietly as possible but what with creaking doors and squeaking floor boards that was all quite less than likely.

"Jim, what the fuck? Honestly, I'm trying to sleep. Unless you are bleeding or in pain, leave." Sebastian groaned as he rolled over and covered his head with his pillow, hoping that perhaps if he ignored Jim that he would get bored and go back to whatever it was he did at this ungodly hour.

"Hush, Sebby. I didn't come to take away your beauty sleep." Jim cooed to Sebastian as he crawled into bed next to him. "I'm just tired too." He draped an arm over Sebastian's sleep-warmed form and pressed his face into the divot between the man's shoulder blades, the rest of his body pressed into the other crevices in Sebastian's body that he seemed so perfectly fitted to.

"Yeah, m'kay this is good." Sebastian mumbled as he relaxed into the touch and drifted back into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 of ericandy’s 30 Day OTP Challenge


	3. Watching a Movie

“Sebby, I’m booooorred. There is nothing to do!”

Sebastian glanced up from the book he was reading, surveying Jim as he took another sip from his tumbler of whiskey. The man before him no longer resembled the cold hearted psychopath that was his boss. He had become soft, not broken per say, just not the same. Ever since they returned from the hospital, Jim had been on lock down, meant to be in the house “resting” for two or three months, if he could manage it, to allow his brain full time to heal.

While the wound might look healed, I assure you Mr. Moran the brain tissue is not. It will merely take time to reconstruct. 

The doctor’s words to Moran still rattled around his mind on occasion. It seemed the doctor had given up trying to explain things to Jim after his conniption fit upon hearing he would be stuck at home for the next few months. He seemed to hope that Sebastian was the saner of the two and would be more likely to keep Jim in check. That idea seemed disconcertingly ironic to Sebastian as the doctor had no idea he was comparing the sanity of a sniper or the serial killer for whom he worked.

Sebastian pulled out of his thoughts as Jim fell over the back of the couch, landing so he stared upside down at his sniper. He kicked his feet rhythmically against the back of the couch, his bare feet creating a muffled thumping against the leather. As he remained at the house, Jim’s usual Westwood and McQueen seemed forgotten, replaced by loose jeans and soft t-shirts, his hair, usually gelled to survive a hurricane, became fluffy and shaggy, and his carefully professional stubble grew rough and wild. Each of the slight changes, created this new Jim, a persona Sebastian knew very little about how to handle. While it was not unpleasant, he did appreciate the newfound freedom in his boss’ lack of caring, it was somewhat disconcerting, hard to make anything out of. ‘He’s still healing’ Sebastian kept reminding himself.

“Sebastian, entertain me. There is nothing to do anymore. All of my current clients have no need for my expertise and I cannot meet with any new clients because I cannot leave this damn house!”

Jim flailed a bit against the couch, clearly frustrated with his situation, then turned back to face Sebastian once again, as if all the answers were scribbled across his sniper’ face but he couldn’t quite make them out.

“You wouldn’t be stuck in the damn house if you hadn’t fucking shot yourself in the head,” Sebastian muttered, turning back to his book, although he could no longer focus his eyes on the words. He could feel Jim’s stare transform from curious to hurt and angry. Sebastian immediately began to regret the words that had slipped from his mouth before his brain could catch them and filter them for Jim’s protection. 

Jim slid his legs down from the back of the couch and righted himself. Sebastian watched him over the top of his book as he subconsciously rubbed the exit wound at the back of his head, staring down at the floor near Sebastian’s feet. Without another word, Jim stood up from the couch and walked across the room to his bedroom. Still in a kind of daze he slammed the door shut behind him, although the motion did not appear to be the beginning of one of his fits, just a lack of effort to deaden the noise. The sudden noise made Sebastian flinch. 

Sebastian lay his book down on the table next to his chair and dropped his head into his hands, elbows balancing on his knees. He rubbed his temples slowly then scrapped his nails down his scalp. None of this should be this hard on Sebastian. He had absolutely no reason to be so angry all the time. His boss wasn’t threatening to kill him every other day, he was able to spend almost all his time with the man he loved, something about them actually felt like a relationship not some quick fuck. All in all he got the good end of the deal. But something about Jim, not being Jim. He couldn’t handle it; he needed the stability of Jim’s anger, of his psychotic excitement, of his brilliant scheming. That was the only thing that seemed normal in his life. This was not normal. None of it was. But he was going to help Jim back to their “normal” if it killed him. 

Sebastian pulled himself away from his armchair and crossed the room to Jim’s door. He knocked against the wood quietly, trying to hear if there was any movement within the room.

“Hey Jim, can I come in?” Sebastian murmured through the door.  
“No”

“Please Jim, I’m sorry about what I said. You know I didn’t mean it. I…I just wasn’t thinking.”

Sebastian wrapped his hand around the door handle and slowly turned the knob, pushing the door open just enough that he could see in. Jim lay on his bed, limp, small, as though he had been deflated, letting all that pent up energy rush out. Sebastian padded across the room, bare feet making so little noise he almost believed Jim may not know he had entered, but the way his body stiffened as he neared the bed clearly disproved that theory. Sebastian knelt onto the bed, gingerly laying down behind Jim and wrapping an arm around that thin waist. The tension remained in Jim’s body as he drew him closer to his body; although it appeared to Sebastian it was very much forced. As they lay together for several minutes, Jim’s body began to soften, folding neatly into the warmth of Sebastian’s body, losing the energy to maintain his stiff resolve. Sebastian placed a soft kiss to the top of Jim’s head, murmuring “I’m sorry” into his hair until he lost count, hoping it would be enough sorrys to apologize for anything he had done and whatever he would do in the future.

“Come on, let’s fix some of that boredom why don’t we.”

Shifting slightly, Sebastian fumbled over to the bedside table to retrieve Jim’s laptop. Ensuring he kept a hand on Jim’s back at all times, Sebastian opened the computer and loaded the DVD already in the disc drive, it didn’t really matter what movie was playing, just some kind of distraction. Sebastian placed the laptop on his legs and pulled Jim closer to him once again, laying his fully pliable body against his chest. Feeling Jim’s breath against his throat, Jim’s chest matching his own chest’s rise and fall, it made it easier for Sebastian to feel that he was alive, it was better than just knowing. This was how they slept for almost three weeks after Jim came home, laying against Sebastian’s chest so that every time he woke in the night, he knew immediately that Jim was alright. 

Delicatessen droned on through the small laptop speakers almost an hour later. Sebastian had quickly zoned out from the movie, losing patience with reading the subtitles and not able to make any sense of the French dialogue, instead he occupied himself with watching Jim. At first, it was watching Jim watch the movie which had quickly progressed to watching Jim sleep through the movie. Sebastian lightly brushed a hand through Jim’s messy hair, stilling the hand hastily as Jim shifted in his sleep. It was in moments such as those that Sebastian could pretend that everything was normal again. It was also in those moments that it was becoming easier for Sebastian to pretend that they were just two men, Richard Brook and his dedicated “friend,” like they had been at the hospital, living normal lives, the kind of normal that other people expected, not their twisted version, madly in love and fully expecting these moments to last a lifetime.


	4. An Unexpected Date

It had been a little over a week since Sebastian had unthinkingly snapped at Jim, yet he still found Jim curled up on the couch, half asleep, every time he came home from work, no indication that he had left that position all day.  
“Come on Jim, we are going out.”  
Sebastian knelt in front of Jim and shook his shoulder gently to further rouse him. Jim glared up at him blearily, clearly not happy to be woken from his nap.  
“I’m not allowed to go out.” Jim huffed, flopping over petulantly onto his other side so that his back was facing towards Sebastian.   
“Besides where would we go?”  
Sebastian heard the curiosity in Jim’s voice and grinned; glad he at least had the criminal’s attention. He knew that Jim was still angry with him, and perhaps a bit with himself for the situation he was in, but the idea of leaving the confines of their home clearly piqued his interest.  
“That is for me to know and you to find out. Come on, go get dressed. I’m not taking you out looking all disheveled.”  
“If I don’t know where we are going, how can I possibly know what to wear?” Jim smirked a bit at Sebastian, somehow thinking this dilemma would be able to force the destination of their adventure away from his sniper. His leering halted as Sebastian stalked towards Jim’s room and head into his closet.   
“It’s not fun if you’re going to choose my clothing for me,” Jim huffed moodily as he drew himself away from the couch to follow after Sebastian.   
Jim leaned against the closet doorframe, still skulking behind Sebastian yet intrigued by the way he perused the items in Jim’s closet. Sebastian was not a careful or meticulous man when it came to matters such as clothing. Jim considered himself lucky if he were able to force Sebastian into a tie, a suit was simply out of the question. He noted the care he placed in choosing each item from Jim’s wardrobe: good suit pants, nice jacket and shirt to accompany, well-polished shoes, and the tie Jim wore only on business occasions.   
“This is what you will need to wear.” Sebastian said, heaping the clothing into Jim’s arms. “Go get changed and meet me in the living room in twenty minutes or so.” Sebastian began to walk away then, thinking better of it, he turned back to face Jim, “seeing what attire I have chosen for you this evening, you may want to put a few of those minutes to use, oh I don’t know, perhaps shaving.” Sebastian sniggered and kissed the top of Jim’s head, then left the room.   
Jim lifted a hand to his face and felt a nearly fully grown beard. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he had shaved, or showered for that matter.   
“Sebastian make that forty minutes!”   
*****   
Sebastian attempted to relax with a book, waiting on Jim as forty minutes had quickly digressed to an hour or so, yet it was becoming increasingly difficult as it seemed the nice outfit, which could almost be described as a suit, was trying to suffocate him.   
“Jim, are you nearly finished. I thought you said forty minutes not an hour and forty?”  
Sebastian shoved himself away from his chair and stalked towards the room. Jim’s hands worked deftly, creating a perfectly symmetrical knot in his tie without ever truly looking at his work in the mirror, instead looking over his slicked back hair and suited body. The same inspection Jim always made before leaving the house, careful to insure every piece was perfectly in place.  
Sebastian did not make his presence at the door known, although he was sure Jim was somewhat aware of it already. Watching his boss slink back into his own normal behaviors so quickly and smoothly at the thought of the unknown adventure ahead created a warmth throughout Sebastian’s body and made him feel strangely giddy.  
“Yes, now I am ready Sebastian. Your impatience is insufferable you know.”  
“I’ll try to work on it boss.” Sebastian half smirked as he looked back at Jim. His psychopathic, serial killer Jim. No longer the shadow of that man.  
“So shall we be off to this unknown location then. Seeing as you will not tell me where we are headed I’m assuming you will be driving.”   
A short time later Sebastian slowed the car, pulling into the valet of what was clearly a very nice restaurant, judging by the gaudy gold-work outside the door and the general dress of the people entering said door. Jim could not honestly say where they were exactly as from the moment he left the door of his flat he could nothing stare at anything and everything with a strange dazed expression. It had been far too long since he had seen the outside world.   
Jim was only pulled away from his all-encompassing staring when Sebastian opened his door and practically dragged him out of the car by his elbow. Actually being out and away from the car gave Jim a chance to fall back into his usual self, calm, collected, the perfect gentleman. Well aside from murder and the destruction he caused, but no one here but Sebastian knew of that.   
As the two walked away from the car, Sebastian chucking the keys at the nearest valet, Jim noticed Sebastian did not release his arm from where he had pulled his boss from the car.   
“Planning on letting me loose eventually or do I need a leash all night. I swear I won’t run off.” Jim prodded playfully at the fingers gripped around his arm.  
“You’re not on a leash….” Sebastian began. He had almost forgotten he was still holding onto Jim. “I just want to keep you close is all…. You’re really not supposed to be out and about anyway.” Sebastian fumbled along through his pathetic explanation, fully aware Jim wouldn’t buy it for a second.   
Their relationship was complicated to say the least about it. As a sniper and his consulting criminal, it was thoroughly professional. Employee and Employer. But as a care-taker and his ward the lines became fuzzier. Jim needed Sebastian as more than an employee or a protector in this state, although he would never admit it. That line however could have been far clearer if their relationship had never gone any further on occasion. But it had. Sebastian would never consider them lovers though, that word did not fit either of them. If it had just been an occasional fuck, Sebastian might have been able to maintain the employer employee mindset about it. But it had never been as detached as that either. Not before the accident and certainly not after. At their flat Sebastian was a little bit more willing to be affectionate, as Jim never gave any signs he did not appreciate it. Out in public though, there was no way of knowing how he would react or how far he would let Sebastian go.   
“Well if you’re going to keep me close Sebastian, you may as well try to look a bit more natural about it and less like you are my body guard.”   
Jim slid his arm away from Sebastian’s grasp, down towards his hands, lacing the fingers together and leaning his body just minimally closer to the other man’s. Sebastian’s whole body shuttered to a stop with this movement, unable to make heads or tails of this new situation.   
“Come now Sebastian, you may as well try to look like you’re enjoying are date. People might start to question the stability of our relationship if you don’t loosen up a bit.”  
Jim flashed a sarcastic grin at his sniper and pulled him along through the restaurant doors, both men quickly falling into their new roles, although how much of an act the night truly was neither could tell.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please feel free to comment or critique! Hopefully I will update this pretty regularly (supposed to do it once a day but that's not all that likely). The chapters should start getting longer pretty soon.


End file.
